When to use antibiotics?

[mrstillery09]

We had an incident yesterday that left 6 young chicks dead, and two young turkeys wounded. One of the two turkeys was hurt quite badly by his lower back, tail feather area. I applied blu kote liberally, and they made it through the night alright and seemed ok this morning. With the injuries on the one turkey in particular, I wasn't sure if I should give some antibiotics or will blu kote be sufficient?

 

[boskelli1571]

Hi there,
Sorry to hear of your troubles. Personally, I would apply a topical antibiotic like Neosporin. Watch carefully for any signs of infection - redness, swelling, pus etc. and if you see any of those signs start a stronger oral antibiotic.
Good luck,

 

[Eggcessive]

There are a lot of people who have treated very deep wounds on their poultry without antibiotics, just keeping the wounds clean, and using antibiotic ointment on them. Some give penicillin, amoxicillin, or Baytril if they are available, especially from a vet. If your turkey wound is deep, you may want to use Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment since BluKote is not meant for anything other than abrasions, or to be used on top of the ointment to prevent pecking. If you notice pus or redness with swelling around a wound, antibiotics may be helpful, but I would try to get by without them.